


Marionette Roulette

by iwant_todie



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Dead Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Dead Toby Smith | Tubbo, Dead Wilbur Soot, Emotional Manipulation, Eret Needs A Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Found Family, Gen, Hurt Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, King Eret (Video Blogging RPF), LMAO, Manipulation, Multiple Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Past Child Abuse, Raccoon TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Threats of Violence, Torture, Whump, glatt, no beta we die like quackity in tftsmp, sbi as biological family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28998552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwant_todie/pseuds/iwant_todie
Summary: Tommy stares at the nether portal, begging it to let someone through. Someone, anyone. Everyone on the server, or even just Punz. Someone to save them, to rescue Tubbo and let Tommy have his best friend again.But nobody came.---What if nobody came to help Tommy and Tubbo?What if Dream won?The jail can hold a teenager as well as it can hold a god, after all.
Comments: 102
Kudos: 443





	1. I cried and I was empty and I didn't know what to say

**Author's Note:**

> TW: graphic descriptions of death, referenced child abuse, suicidal ideation, graphic descriptions of ways to attempt suicide.
> 
> Chapter title from Dead Girls by Penelope Scott

“We will be dead before we get to the portal.” Tubbo says softly. “We can’t go that way, we don’t have pickaxes. Eh, it’s fine.” Tommy turns away, dread settling in his chest, an old friend. “We had some - oh well, there goes our lift out.”

Dream had shot the button to the lift, and the two teenagers watched in resigned horror as the only plausible escape slowly lifted itself up. 

“And yeah, that was the only other option. I-yeah. It’s over.” Tubbo stares at the roof, Tommy watching him with grief filled eyes. “We had some laughs. It was fun, you know? All good things must come to an end eventually.”

“No but-” Tommy pleads with Tubbo, grief filling his lungs, drowning him as though it were a sea.

“I just didn’t think this would be my coming to an end.” Tubbo’s eyes are filled with resignation, looking far older than any seventeen year old should have to do. Desperation makes air in Tommy’s lungs as he looks at his best friend.

“What am I without you?” The question falls from Tommy’s mouth without Tommy meaning to let it slip.

“Yourself.” Tubbo says, a sad smile on his face. Tommy has to look away, away from the kind boy with the bees who helped him with maths questions when they were younger. Away from the boy in the meadow who would sit with him when home was too much. Away from the teen who came and distracted Wilbur when he got violent in Pogtopia. Away from the teen who protected him from his brothers when they were mad. Tommy can’t break down now, not while Dream watches, not when Tubbo might die. Tommy has to stay strong for Tubbo. Tubbo needs  _ him _ now.

“So are you really-” Tommy swallows, looking back at Tubbo with a heavy heart. “Are you accepting this?”

“Yeah, it’s alright. It’s alright.” Tubbo stops talking to Tommy, almost as though he was talking to himself. 

“Are you going to be okay?”

“It was fun, we said our goodbyes already, at the start.” Tubbo reminds Tommy, though its painfully obvious that this isn’t a conversation that Tubbo thought he would have. 

“Yeah but we were optimistic!” Tommy protests, and Tubbo laughs. “This isn’t- this isn’t what-”

“Well, you know, you get backed into a corner. This is-” Tubbo cuts himself off. “He describes me as a pawn. This is checkmate. This is it. This is the end, I suggest you resign.”

Tommy stares at Tubbo with hurt in his eyes, trying desperately to ignore the glint of Dream’s enchanted axe. He can’t - he  _ won’t  _ accept this.

“Tubbo.” Tommy swallows. “Even though for this entire server, I have always regarded you as- as my, as my sidekick and the character- Really Tubbo, I was- I was  _ your _ sidekick.  _ Please don’t go.” _ His voice wavers as tears begin to well up in his eyes.

“No, it’s fine.” Tubbo walks towards Dream, and Tommy collapses to his knees, holding his arms. 

“No, no, no.” Tommy pleads, barely containing his desperation. 

“It’s about time, anyway.” Tubbo smiles at Tommy. 

“Say your goodbyes.” Dream says, and Tommy gets up on shaking legs, running towards his best friend. They hug, a long moment where tears and mumbled comfort is all that is exchanged. Then, Tubbo pulls himself out of Tommy’s grasp, walking over to Dream.

Tommy stares at the nether portal, begging it to let someone through. Someone,  _ anyone _ . Everyone on the server, or even just Punz. Someone to save them, to rescue Tubbo and let Tommy have his best friend again.

But nobody came.

Not as the axe made it’s home in Tubbo’s chest. Not as Tommy wails, screaming for his best friend to wake up. Not as Dream laughs as Tommy tries desperately to save the teen. Not as Tubbo smiles and uses his last moments to brush some tears from Tommy’s eyes.

“It doesn’t hurt.” Tubbo promises Tommy. “I don’t feel any pain. Nothing can hurt me now, Tommy. Don’t worry. I love you man, you’re my best friend.”

“I love you too, Tubbo. Don’t go.” Tommy sobs into his best friend's chest. “Please  _ don’t go _ .” Tubbo smiles at Tommy, exhaling a shaky breath as he shuts his eyes.

And he doesn’t inhale again. 

Tommy screams, wailing as though his heart was torn from his chest. Dream walks towards him, trying to pull Tommy away, but Tommy doesn’t let Tubbo go. As though he  _ can’t _ let Tubbo go, as though the dead teen is a part of him.

“No! No Tubbo!” Tommy yells, struggling in Dream's arms. “Tubbo wake up! Tubbo wake up this isn’t funny! Wake  _ up! _ ”

Tommy barely notices Dream’s sigh as he’s let go, still wailing. He’s barely paying attention as Dream walks behind him, holding the bloodied axe in his hands. He doesn’t care as it’s lifted above his head. 

However, he notices the pain that blooms in his head as he is hit, and the world goes black.

\----

Tommy wakes up, bleary eyed and tired, sleep still singing its siren call to him. He can’t fall back asleep, as much as he may long to. A deep sadness sets in his heart, though Tommy can’t quite remember why it’s there. All he wants to do is sleep, to be  _ warm _ in his dreams again. Why is it so cold here? Where even is ‘here’?

He looks around, a sinking feeling settling in his chest. An obsidian room, with a toilet, basin, chest and a lectern with a book in it. He sits on a bed, but gets the feeling that it was not originally supposed to be in the room. The items are bolted to the ground, except for the bed. A clock ticks on the wall, telling Tommy that it’s evening - though not the date.

Lava bubbles, and Tommy realises with growing horror that he cannot get out of this place. Wherever this place is. Nothing in this room has let him know where he is. More questions grow in his head, but he doesn’t voice them. What happened, how did he get here?

Tommy shuts his eyes and leans against the wall, trying to remember what happened. The threat to his discs. Seeing everyone along the prime path. Talking to everyone, trying not to let them know what Tubbo and he were doing. The trip. The goodbyes, jokingly exchanged. The fight. The surrender. Tubbo’s final death.

_ Tubbo’s final death. _

Tommy wails again, a haunting melody of grief and anger. Tubbo is  _ dead _ . Not coming back.  _ Never _ coming back. Stuck with  _ Wilbur _ and  _ Schlatt _ in the afterlife - unless heaven truly does exist, in which case Tubbo is the only person on the server worthy of that place.

Sleep gives her sirens call to the lava, and Tommy watches it bubble in fascination. It’s as though he’s in exile again, however he knows that Tubbo won’t be waiting for him outside. Tommy doesn’t stand, but he reaches out to the lava. His hand doesn’t get close to the lava, but the heat from the molten rock hits his hand, a comforting hand that pulls him towards it.

He’d be with Tubbo if he enters the lava.

“Tommy, don’t you  _ dare _ take a step towards that lava.” Dream’s voice echoes in Tommy’s small room, and a netherite wall is pushed up before he can move towards it. “It’s not your time to die.”

Tommy doesn’t say anything in response. He can’t talk, all that will happen is a wail if he tries. Tubbo is  _ gone _ . Tommy doesn’t say anything as Dream steps out from the lava, orange potion particles floating off him. Fire resistance.

“Now, Tommy, I need to establish some rules.” Dream says, and Tommy just stares at the lava blankly. Why should he care about the rules? Tubbo is dead. There's no point in following the rules if he will only see Tubbo in death.

Tommy’s head jerks to the side as pain blooms in his cheek. Dream stands between him and the lava, and his hand rests in the air. Tommy blinks a few times, his hand moving to his cheek slowly. Dream sighs, forcing Tommy to look up at him. 

“We have to go over the  _ rules _ , Toms.” Dream’s voice is falsely sweet, poisoned honey dripping from his tongue. “I’m your  _ friend _ , I need to make sure that you don’t hurt yourself.”

Tommy just stares fearfully at the man who killed his best friend - his  _ brother _ . The only person in the world that cared about Tommy. The only person that Tommy has been able to rely on forever.

“Rule number one: No talking back.” Tommy nods, knowing deep down that he isn’t able to talk. Not now at least. Maybe not ever again. “Rule two: don’t go near the lava. No matter what the reason is. Rule three: If I tell you to do something you do it.”

Tommy doesn’t want to follow those rules, but he nods anyways. Dream wouldn’t be able to watch him all the time, and Dream should be far enough away if Tommy decides to jump into the lava. Tommy could even follow Dream out. The prison is massive - surely  _ something _ in here will kill him.

If not, starving himself is always an option. Or drowning himself. He has ways to end it all. Suffocation, burning, drowning, starvation. None are particularly pretty, nor are they quick, but there's nothing to attach his bed sheets to. So he can’t hang himself.

“Tommy, are you listening to me?” Dream asks, and Tommy flinches away. He shakes his head, his body tensing, preparing for the next hit.

Dream doesn’t hit him, but the man pulls him into a hug. Tommy freezes, panic and guilt eating at his insides. What is Dream  _ playing at _ ? Why has he done this to him, to Tubbo and Fundy and Wilbur and Techno and Niki and Ranboo and Eret and  _ Philza _ . Tommy deserves this, but did Tubbo deserve to die?

No. Tubbo didn’t deserve to die. Tommy should have. Tommy should have been the one to die in his place.

“You’re so quiet.” Dream says, wiping the tears from Tommy’s eyes. “So weak. You’re pathetic, I can’t believe anyone ever saw you as a threat, rather than something to pity. Tubbo would have at least yelled at me for killing you.”

Tommy, to his own credit, doesn’t flinch at the harsh words. No, he keeps the words in his chest, letting them settle down into a hum that echoes in his mind. Tommy doesn’t need voices like Technoblade has to make him want to die, he has his own brain.

_ And Dream _ , a traitorous part of his brain supplies,  _ Dream is why you’re like this. _

_ Wilbur, Techno, Phil and everyone else helped him. _ Tommy argues back weakly. Dream is right. Tommy’s  _ pathetic _ , he doesn’t have friends. Just people who pity him.

“Tommy, can you look at me.” Dream demands, his voice harsh and leaving no room for arguments. Tommy turns his eyes to Dream, and something must be wrong because Dream sighs again. “God, you’re so pathetic. If I had known that all it took to break you was Tubbo’s death, I would have had him killed when you were exiled.”

_ ‘Break you’? Am I really that broken? _ Tommy ponders, though he knows deep down that this isn’t something that he can come back from. 

“Just wait in there Tommy.” Dream says, walking towards the lava. “I’ll work out a way to mold you into a weapon that only I can use. Then you’ll finally stop being pathetic, and other people might actually like you.”

Dream steps backwards into the lava, and Tommy watches with awe as the man disappears. If only he could follow Dream into the lava’s warm embrace! But the netherite barrier quickly pushes upwards, and Tommy knows that he can’t get through that. Maybe is he crawled he could, but he isn’t that low yet.

Starvation, it seems, is the best option for the present.

So Tommy pulls himself under the covers of his bed, ignoring the world, and he falls back asleep. Perhaps in his dreams, he will see Tubbo again.


	2. I broke the fucking news, it wasn't mine to break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam delievers the news of Tommy and Tubbo's demise to Phil, Techno and Ranboo.
> 
> \---
> 
> “But there’s a chance Tommy’s alive.” Ranboo says without conviction. He’d seen Tommy in exile, he was the only person in the house who visited the teen more than once. Ranboo clearly knew about Tommy’s spiraling mental health - something that Sam only learnt about after the bombing of L’Manburg, in a quiet exchange between Tommy and Tubbo that Sam was never supposed to hear - and Ranboo clearly knew that there wasn’t any way that Tommy survived Tubbo’s death.
> 
> If the teen fell to his own hand or his enemy’s, it didn’t matter. Tommy and Tubbo could not be separated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- Mentions of suicide, implied child abuse
> 
> Chapter title from "Dead Girls" by Penelope Scott

Sam hovers awkwardly at the door to Techno and Phil’s house, unsure as to if he should go in or not. He needs to let them know what has happened, and he needs the information that Phil could potentially have, but this isn’t his news to break.

Except he’s the only one who cares enough to tell the three people who live so far away.

“Are you going to say something, or just stand there?” Ranboo asks, his head tilted in confusion. “You doing alright Sam?”

“I need to tell you guys something. Are Techno and Phil home?” Sam asks, shaking himself out of his stupor.

“Come in.” Techno invites him in from behind Ranboo, a look on his face telling Sam that it’s going to be hard to convince him that he doesn’t know what happened. 

Sam steps into the cottage, warm air washing over him like sea foam. It clings to his fur, and Sam finds himself hissing in content. Phil and Techno exchange worried looks, but Ranboo just smiles, and mumbles something to the pair.

“You said you had something to tell us?” Phil says, breaking the silence.

“You might want to sit down for this.” Sam says, taking a deep breath in. Phil, Techno and Ranboo sit around the kitchen table, Ranboo nervously looking around. Phil and Techno exchange a glance, and Techno rolls his eyes.

“Bit over dramatic, I’m sure the news isn’t that huge.” Techno says with a smirk.

“Tubbo was killed in a battle against Dream two days ago.” Sam says, his voice wavering. “Tommy is currently missing in action, presumed dead. I’m  _ so _ sorry.” 

The trio just stare at him, his words washing over them. Ranboo is the first to understand what was said, burying his face into his hands and sobbing quietly. Phil is the next to realise, horror and grief mixing in his eyes as he wails. A father who possibly outlived two of his sons, the only survivor sitting next to him. Techno is the last to realise, and anger overtakes grief in his eyes. Techno stands, pushing his chair over in his rush. Techno stalks over to Sam, pushing him against the wall as though that could change the past.

“You’re sure! You’re sure that Tubbo is dead.” It’s not a question but a demand.

“I’ve seen the body.” Sam says, tears dripping down his face. “Axe to the chest. He couldn’t survive that one.”

“And Tommy. He’s just missing, not dead, correct?”

“Techno, it’s  _ Tommy _ .” Sam says. “Do you really believe that he would survive Tubbo’s death? After everything he gave up for Tubbo?”

Phil wails once more, keening in lament for his son. Ranboo starts to shake, as though he wants to teleport away but simply  _ can’t _ . Techno lets Sam go, collapsing to the floor. It’s as though he can’t process it, as though he can’t do  _ anything _ but stare at the ground. It must be hard - losing both of your siblings within a year.

“I need to ask a few questions, but if you don’t feel up to answering them then I can leave.” Sam says gently.

“Go on.” Ranboo says for the two men, not waiting to see their reactions.

“Tubbo’s family.” Sam says softly. “Someone needs to tell them that he’s died. Do you know who I can contact?”

“Captainsparklez, on Mianite.” Phil says, staring at the ground. “I- He- I-”

“Thank you.” Sam says, nodding his head at the man. “I’ll let him know.”

“When is the funeral?” Techno asks, hugging himself while he sits on the floor.

“Next week.” Sam says. “We have to-” He takes a deep breath in. “There’s no coffins Tubbo’s size, and everyone would prefer to bury Tommy with him. They were best friends, after all.”

“But there’s a chance Tommy’s alive.” Ranboo says without conviction. He’d seen Tommy in exile, he was the only person in the house who visited the teen more than once. Ranboo clearly knew about Tommy’s spiraling mental health - something that Sam only learnt about after the bombing of L’Manburg, in a quiet exchange between Tommy and Tubbo that Sam was never supposed to hear - and Ranboo  _ clearly _ knew that there wasn’t any way that Tommy survived Tubbo’s death.

If the teen fell to his own hand or his enemy’s, it didn’t matter. Tommy and Tubbo could not be separated. 

Tubbo barely lived when Tommy was in exile - both times. Sam had seen the teen roaming Manburg, looking as though he was barely surviving without his friend. It appeared better in the second exile - perhaps Tubbo was putting on a brave face, or maybe he was just used to it - but it was clear that he still missed the teen.

And, deep down, Sam knows that Tommy felt the exiles worse than Tubbo. After all - Tubbo had a support system. Tommy had an insane man, one who blew up his home, the other who blew up his home and killed his best friend.

Tommy was always handed the short end of the stick, and always punished for acting out because of it. It’s upsetting just how little the university seems to have cared about the teen, until after he died. No one cared for him until after he died.

“Thank you.” Sam says, pulling himself out of his anger. “I’ll message you the dates for the funerals.”

“Why didn’t you just message us the news?” Phil asks, his voice hollow.

“Because hearing that your children died is news that you should hear from someone’s mouth. Not through a screen.” Sam responds despondently. He turns, walking out of the room. How could Philza ask him that? How could he care  _ so little _ for Tommy and Tubbo? Was it because  _ Sam _ was the one who told him, or was it because he didn’t care for the teens.

“Tubbo wasn’t our brother.” Sam hears Techno mumble. “And both were problems who tore the family apart.”

Red flashes in Sam’s eyes, and Ranboo wails at those words. One should not speak ill of the dead. Sam lets the door slam behind him, a loud  _ bang! _ that condemns the two adults in the house to a damnation that Sam can bring to their doorsteps. Dream may have taken away his right to be the warden, but there isn’t much Sam would have to do to convince the rest of the server to throw the pair into the jail for their comments.

Sam is not a vengeful man, but those children didn’t deserve death and pain.  _ Tommy _ didn’t deserve to be put with that family.  _ Tubbo _ didn’t deserve to be spoken about with such contempt.

Sam steps out into the snow storm, walking away from the cottage warmed by false ideals of family. Tubbo is dead, and the likelihood of Tommy having survived is so close to nothing it shouldn’t be counted as an option.

But Sam has worked under worse conditions. He’ll find Tommy - either his body, his ghost or his person. Maybe then he can help the teen.

Show him what a family looks like.

\----

Niki looks out of the window of her and Puffy’s home, humming under her breath. Tubbo, dead?

Why would Dream kill Tubbo, when Tommy was  _ far _ worse - a warmonger? It doesn’t make sense to Niki, though she supposes that Dream may have only returned Tubbo’s body to the main area of the server because Tommy isn’t worth a grave. He can rot where he lies, for all Niki cares.

Is that true though?

Guilt claws at her heart, as though she was the one who killed the teens. She never wanted Tubbo dead - Tommy was the only one that she and Jack wanted to kill. Why can’t she stomach the two teens' deaths? Why does guilt drown her as though she threw the axe?

Tubbo died saving Tommy, Dream had said. Perhaps that's why she feels as though she threw the axe. Tubbo had jumped in front of the axe to save Tommy from certain death, dying in the process.

Would he have done the same, if it were Niki and Jack throwing the axe?

\---

Ghostbur sits in the L’Manhole, hiding under an undercroft as rain buckets down. He sticks his hands into the rain, watching as they run like watercolours in the rain. He wants to feel pain. He  _ longs _ for it to hurt, for the pain to be unbearable and for it to burn like the noise it makes. It doesn’t. It doesn’t feel like anything. His skin fizzes and his hands run like paint down a drain, but he doesn’t feel any pain.

Tubbo is  _ dead _ . Tommy could be dead. 

“Get your hands out of the rain, loverboy.” Glatt says, making Ghostbur jump. “Tubbo is with us down there, but he’s happy to stay and rest for a while. He says he’ll be back for his funeral.”

“And Tommy?” Ghostbur isn’t able to return to the Aether, not since he made the deal with Glatt to watch the overworld for the other ghost. He could return, of course, no deal stops the inevitable, and maintaining a form is  _ hard _ , but he doesn’t want to.

Alivebur is so  _ loud _ there.

“He isn’t there, Wilbur.” Schlatt says, his voice more full. Without an echo. “Your little brother is alive. Tubbo says Dream killed him so that he could break Tommy.”

“No.” Ghostbur pleads with the rain, with his friend. “ _ No _ , not Toms. Not my baby brother.”

“I’m sorry, Wil.” Glatt says, pulling the tall ghost into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

“He’s just a kid. He’s just a  _ kid. _ ” Ghostbur’s eyes glow bright, angry, and Glatt looks at him with growing realisation.

“This is not a world to make into a disaster, Ghostbur.” Glatt warns. “There is more than just us here.”

“We deserve the pain.”

“Let’s go somewhere warm.” Glatt says, the bedrock glowing golden as Glatt opens a portal to the Aether.

Thats one good thing about the L’Manhole. They don’t need to beg Dream to make a bedrock portal for them anymore. They have access to enough bedrock here to keep a portal open constantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awesamdad pog?  
> Also: a vote for next chapter
> 
> Raccooninnit /becoming/ a raccoon
> 
> OR
> 
> Captainsparklez finding out his son is dead


	3. Lovely bitter water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy begins to grow in his hybrid traits. The funerals go ahead.
> 
> \---
> 
> The funeral isn’t as long as it could be, but no one knows if they would have stayed stable if it was longer. It rains the entire funeral, appropriately, and although no one lights the meadow where the teens are buried, no mobs enter. Red poppies and blue forget-me-nots grow as though the meadow was destined to be a cemetery. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Teen death mention, crying, signs of abuse
> 
> \---
> 
> The votes were pretty much even: so please, enjoy the fruits of this labour!
> 
> \---
> 
> Chapter title from Bitter Water by the Oh Hellos

Tommy lies in his bed, sleep gently placing him in his bed. He was with Tubbo, in his dreams. Why couldn’t he stay? He misses his friend.

Tommy hears footsteps around his small cell. They have a strange sound - both heavy and armoured, clinking against the ground, but light as well. As though the person is wearing armour, but hiding it under layers.

Tommy knows, starvation addled mind still functioning enough for fear to recognise that Dream is the visitor. He doesn’t sound like Techno, or Wilbur, or even Phil as he walks. And in any case, Dream is the only one who is allowed to visit him. Who would visit Tommy, the teen who got his best friend killed? The teen who hurt so many people that Techno knew before he left to join Wilbur’s revolution, his older brother trying to keep him from harming more. The teen that Wilbur knew was a monster, Pogtopia helping him see that Tommy is the route of his problems.

Tommy’s head blooms in pain, and Tommy can’t help the whimper that falls from his lips. Dream looks to him, surprised that the teen is awake.

He’s spent a week in the prison without moving or eating, just taking sips of water as Dream forces him. Tommy _knows_ , somehow, that Dream is worried, or even fearful, for what is happening to Tommy.

But it hurts. His head hurts so much - too much. Why does it hurt so much?

“Oh, Tommy.” Dream hums in sympathy, and Tommy feels the bed dip from the weight of the other man. “See - this is what happens if you don’t eat. You get hungry.”

“Head.” Tommy curls into a ball, his hands on the top of his head. He can feel warm, sticky blood in between his fingers. “Bleeding. Hurts.”

“No, don’t be an idiot.” Dream tutts, smacking Tommy’s hands away from his head. “You’re just hungry, because you’re stubborn and you refuse help. That’s why Tubbo died - you refused help.”

Tommy wails at the reminder, the pain in his head spreading to his fingers, feet and tailbone. His whole body feels like it’s on fire - it’s _not fair_.

“You know, Tubbo’s funeral is tomorrow.” Dream says. “His father even came. Where is your father, Tommy? Picking up better children because you’re a monster who kills everyone he loves?”

Tommy screams again, all anger and grief and _acceptance_ , because deep down, Tommy knows that Dream is right.

Tommy is a monster. He’s the worst of all his brothers, of anyone in his family. 

Of anyone on the server.

\---

“Welcome to the server, Captain-”

“Save it Dream.” The man says, walking past the server’s admin to Phil, who avoids looking at the man. Jordan takes his sunglasses off, his eyes filled with tears.

“Jordan-”

“Tell me it was a prank.” Jordan begs his friend, his voice hollow. “Tell me I didn’t outlive Tubbo. Tell me that my son is just around the corner, giggling under his breath. Tell me that this server, that was promised to be _safe_ , is safe! _Tell me that Tubbo is still alive!_ ”

“I’m sorry.” the words fall like a guillotine from Phil’s lips, and Jordan falls to his knees, a sob ripping itself out of his throat. “I’m so sorry.”

“Who.” It’s not a question, rather a demand for justice. “ _Who?”_

“Me.” Dream says blankly. “I was aiming for Tommy, your son jumped in front of him.”

“You mother _fucker_ .” Jordan spits, lunging at the admin as though killing him will bring back Tubbo. “Bring him back! _Bring my son back!_ You _swore_ that this SMP would be _safe_ for him - for him to experience SMP’s before he turned 18! **_How could you!_ **”

“I can’t bring him back.” Dream lies, though the only people who know he’s lying are held on a tight leash. It doesn’t matter though, Phil and Techno escorting Jordan away from Dream, leaving behind the admin, who in turn stalks away from the world spawn.

Sunglasses lie in freshly kicked up mud, their red frames shining in the sunlight. A small hand reaches down, giggling as he picks it up.

He doesn’t know why his Dad is so upset with Dream, but he’s sure that he’ll feel better once he gets his glasses back!

\---

The funeral isn’t as long as it could be, but no one knows if they would have stayed stable if it was longer. It rains the entire funeral, appropriately, and although no one lights the meadow where the teens are buried, no mobs enter. Red poppies and blue forget-me-nots grow as though the meadow was destined to be a cemetery. 

The caskets are lowered into the graves silently. Tubbo’s is small - too small, why is it _so small_ \- though Tommy’s is the same size as an adults it’s light. Two disks lie in it, along with some polaroids that Ghostbur had donated, of times long since passed. They were not Ghostbur’s in origin, but Tubbo’s and Tommy’s. The thought still counts, as the ghost did not attend the funeral, or say anything to the living.

Niki is the first to speak. Her words don’t flow like poetry, and she stumbles and chokes her way through her sentences, but the emotions are raw and _true_ and they bring the most comfort to the fathers who have lost their sons. 

Quackity speaks next. It’s a short speech, one that he wrote with Karl and Sapnap’s help, the paper tearstained and running. His hands shake while he speaks, talking about the good times he had with the two teens. New L’Manburg, running drugs, even parts of Pogtopia and Manburg are brought up, and by the time he leaves the stand, Quackity is close to collapsing. Karl and Sapnap pull him into a close hug, letting the man cry on their shoulders and silently promising each other that they will not be the next to go - for the fiancee’s sake.

Fundy takes the stand, and though he can’t stand for more than five minutes, his speech brings up memories of before wars and countries and disks - he talks about a meadow so similar to the one that Tubbo and Tommy are being buried in. About playing with his uncle and friend who were _just_ younger than him. He collapses soon after saying that Tubbo and Tommy had asked him to bury them in a meadow like it, hoping that they like the one he chose for them. Eret helps him off the stage, pulling Fundy away from Phil and Techno without Fundy needing to ask him.

Phil takes the stage quietly. He makes it through his entire speech without crying, though he collapses into Techno’s arms the second eyes are off him. His speech was neither short nor long, here nor there. It talked about Tommy, the gremlin who never grew old enough to discover what type of hybrid he is. Was. It spoke about Tubbo, the kind boy who would play with Tommy in the meadow near their home. It never once said anything about power, though it’s clear that Phil wanted to blame power struggles for the deaths.

Jordan speaks, in a wistful tone that tells everyone exactly who gave Sam the black eye. He talks about raising Tubbo, about how when Tommy was over the two boys were a handful but sweet. How the two would insist on helping him make dinner if Tommy was spending the night. He never brought up how he was promised a safe server for his son to play on. It’s clear in the hardness in his eyes that he despises the admin for his sons death.

Ranboo is the last to speak. He waits until Phil and Techno leave before taking the stage, and the silence that falls at the enderman hybrid’s little rebellion tells him that he needs to let everyone know. He reads every memory of the pair in his memory book. From burning Georges house to meeting them on the prime path, thinking that they were going to grind. Ranboo is not a poet, but the venom he spits at Dream is enough to make everyone remember the once living president. Ranboo speaks about hearing of Tubbo’s death. Of Tommy’s exile, and what he witnessed once. Of broken screams that he heard from Logstedshire after Tommy was long asleep. Of wet sobs that he could hear from the presidential office after a meeting with the butcher army.

“Their deaths are on everyones hands.” Ranboo spits, before he walks into the forest. He stalks into the forest, small burns pocketing his face as he refuses to bring an umbrella. 

\---

Tommy lies on his bed, blood soaking through the sheets and covers. He doesn’t know how much more pain he can handle, how much more he can take. It _hurts_ so much, bones growing in places no human should be able to grow them. 

Though he is Phil’s son, and none of them were human.

Phil himself is an avian hybrid, Techno being a pig (boar, Techno would say). Wilbur was more difficult to work out, but he was a salmon hybrid, practically a siren with the talents he had.

Tommy is 16 now. Of course his hybrid traits are coming in. 

He remembers when Techno and Wilbur’s came in. The hugs from Phil, the carefully brew potions to help them. The cards and care and _love_ that was given to the twins. Tommy will never get that. He doesn’t get warmth, freshly dried clothes from the drying machine. He gets cold obsidian walls and a wall of lava that he can’t even drag himself towards. 

Dream chained his ankle to the corner, saying something about ‘pets’. Tommy doesn’t know, Tommy could hear him, could hear _everything_ , all at once. It was too much, still _is_ too much. He just wants to burrow under some blankets, under a building. Burrow somewhere _safe_ , preferably with some blankets fresh out of the clothes dryer. And some running water nearby to wash his food with, and a close source of food and-

Tommy whimpers, bringing his hands to his ears. They no longer sit at the side of his head, but on the top of it. They’re soft and round, Tommy spends a lot of time wondering what species he is. What type of hybrid he is.

When he asked Dream, the man just laughed. He said it wasn’t important, he’s a feral animal that needs to be tamed anyways. Tommy is inclined to believe him. He knows he has sharp claws and feet with pads at the bottom of them. And a tail. He doesn’t know what it looks like, just that it’s _there_ and it’s _painful_ and _still growing_.

He can trust Dream as the man smells safe, Tommy often lies to himself. The man smells of _nothing_ . The scent of blood or dirt should follow the man, but it doesn’t. Dream doesn’t smell of _anything_ , but Tommy can’t afford to be choosy about who is his family.

He misses Tubbo.

\----

A child watches from the trees, a black liquid falling from his eyes like ink. Unlike Ghostbur, who looks the same as he did when he was living, just grey; or Glatt, who’s horns are now red in contrast with his blue jumper; the child looks nothing like when he was alive.

His eyes are black, as though they were made from the void. His skin is whiter than paper, and the blood flowing out of the corner of his lips stands out as though nothing else in the world was that saturated. His clothes are torn, green shirt greyed and bloodied from the brutal death he experienced. The grass seems to wilt beneath his feet, and his hair floats as though he was encased in water, rather than floating in air. He simultaneously looks older than he will ever age, and younger than most of the smp knew him. His body is small, shorter than it had been in life, but his face bared the marks of someone who has lived lifetimes.

Ghostbur promised revenge - that he would flood the world to save Tommy. He would rise the sea until Dream brings his little brother home. The, if water is not threat enough, lava would take its place. The young - too young, _far_ too young - ghost can’t believe that the sweet man who held him as he cried would do that to a world.

Didn’t believe it, not until Glatt spoke to him. Told him what Ghostbur had done to worlds as Alivebur. Had raised lava and water and could have been a _god_ , but chose to play war against Dream in this server.

The ghostly boy believes that much. He pretends to only remember good things, but he doesn’t. He remembers what Alivebur did to Tommy. What Technoblade did to him. What Wilbur and Techno would get away with doing to the two boys. What Phil and Dream and Techno did to his country.

He remembers Schlatt. He remembers everything. Every detail, every crime. He forgot what happy memories he made, leaving only despair and anger, and the need to protect Tommy.

He doesn’t remember his father anymore. 

He let himself become hardened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ghostbo? Ghostubbo? Polterbo? Poltubbo?
> 
> whats his fucking ghost name i cant keep calling him the child


	4. Moonsick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eret knows. Rescue plans can be made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- Abuse, murder, violence, death, blood

Eret looks out over the prison, his eyes set in anger. He saw what Dream did to Tommy. He knows where the teen is. Dream may have the rest of the mourning server wrapped around his fingers, but Eret won’t let himself he puppeteered again. He won’t fall into line.

But he can’t just break in.

He was at the funeral. He was  _ heralding _ that Tommy was alive during the funeral preparations. Surely, it would feel more complete. Surely, Dream would have brought his body back.

Eret doesn’t know why he didn’t tell everyone that he saw Dream take Tommy into the prison. It could be guilt, from not confronting the man. It could be fear. It could even be that he knows that the server will not allow him to move on from his betrayal - that the server believes his crown is gilded with blood.

But it isn’t that. It’s not as selfish as Eret lets herself believe it to be.

She’s scared for Sam and Puffy.

Sam, who built the prison. Sam, who lost his job after Dream returned. Sam, who is nothing but kind to her. Sam, who ignores Eret’s past crimes. Sam who visits her in her lonely castle. Sam who took Tubbo and Tommy’s deaths as though they were personal failings, as though Sam killed the pair. Puffy, who practically adopted Dream. Puffy, who let Dream stay with her. Puffy, who patched Dream up after fights. Puffy, who wouldn’t let Dream push her away like he had with his other friends. Puffy, who visited Eret over the winter. Puffy, who had Christmas dinner with Eret instead of her girlfriend. Puffy, who writes to Eret as often as possible. Puffy, who took Tommy and Tubbo’s deaths as though Dream had killed her children.

They don’t want to watch two of the kindest people they know die, be punished for what Dream did.

They don’t want their only parental figures to die.

Eret glares at the prison, not noticing someone approaching them. In fact, they didn’t notice the other person until there was a tap on their shoulder. Eret screeches indignantly, panic squeezing their lungs as they spin around.

“Sorry for scaring you.” Fundy says softly. “You’ve been staring at the prison for a while, I got worried.”

“It’s alright.” Eret sighs, smiling weakly at their friend. “I’m- I’m fine.”

Fundy gives her an incredulous look, but sighs, turning away from Eret. Eret doesn’t feel guilty for lying - she’s making sure his friend won’t snap, won’t fall off the deep end. She can’t allow Fundy to hurt because of Eret. The poor man is already upset because his ex fiance killed his uncle, she can’t let her friend be lead down the path of revenge.

“Where are you staying?” Eret asks quietly.

“Dry waters, with Niki.” Fundy responds. “We’re going back today, probably won’t be back for a while.”

“Oh.” Is all Eret can muster, not having the strength for what they know will come next.

“You could join us, if you’d like?” Fundy asks. It’s the same question, the same offer.

“I have a country to rule.” He responds, his eyes tired. Fundy doesn’t -  _ can’t _ \- notice, Eret’s eyes firmly hidden behind his sunglasses. “I can’t leave everyone without a leader, especially not since Dream hasn’t been punished.”

“You’re going to go up against Dream?” Fundy mumbles, shock on his face.

“Everything’s gotten out of hand. He  _ killed _ Tubbo!” Eret snaps, she doesn’t understand why Fundy doesn’t  _ see _ this.

“Eret, promise me one thing. Just one.” Fundy says, taking Eret’s hands. “Don’t make me come back to the SMP for your funeral.”

\----

Tuboo walks alongside Ghostbur and Glatt, taking in the land. He remembers everything - all the suffering, all the pain - but allows the two elder ghosts to tell him the lore of the land. And the laws that they made. No one follows them, Tuboo notes, but he can’t find himself caring all to much about it.

What he does care about, is Eret. The king stands, staring at the prison, for hours. Ghostbur and Glatt don’t explain, and when Ghostbur begins to melt without the presence of water the two elder ghosts book it for the Aether.

Tuboo floats towards Eret, ready to talk to the king. They would be the first living person to know that Tuboo is real, the first living person to see him. Tuboo wanted it to be his father, but he isn’t certain that his father will want to see him. 

“Are you okay, Eret?” Tuboo’s voice echoes slightly, taking on an airy quality.

“Tubbo?” Eret spins around, tears in his eyes. “Oh,  _ Tubbo. _ I’m so sorry. I’m  _ so _ sorry.”

“You didn’t do this.” Tuboo says, though he knows none of this would have happened if Eret didn’t betray them. Tommy and he wouldn’t have lost their first lives. But Eret didn’t want their deaths. Eret was -  _ is _ \- the only adult to know what Wilbur and Techno were like to Tommy. Eret didn’t want Tommy and him to die. He wanted to protect them.

“If I hadn’t of-”

“Dream would have done this anyway.” Tuboo shrugs. “Death is not the end of the road. Just the turn off that will take you to your next destination.”

“Then why are you back here?” Eret doesn’t sound judgemental, just confused.

“Because I failed. I failed to protect Tommy.”

“You saved his life.”

“Dream executed me. Why are you staring at the prison?” Tuboo asks, the grass beneath his feat wilting. Eret looks down nervously, as though he doesn’t want to admit to something.

“I saw Dream take Tommy into the prison.” Eret blurts out, her voice wavering. “I tried to tell the others, but no one would listen to me. I  _ tried _ Tubbo, I really did! No one trusts me anymore, this is all my fault if I hadn’t of-”

“Eret, shut up.” Tuboo says softly. “You didn’t throw the axe. You didn’t send us off. You tried. Now, let me help you get my best friend out of prison.”

Eret smiles, offering his hand to Tuboo. Tuboo considers it for a moment, before taking the hand. Tuboo’s always liked the king, and the good memories that he pushes away outweigh the anger. The betrayal. Tuboo is glad that the king is on his side, and the two walk towards the castle, hand in hand, as the moon rises over the horizon.

\----

Phil sits in Techno’s house, a lukewarm cup of green tea resting in his hands. Snow falls onto the ground softly, and Techno’s soft snores hit his ears. He promised his son that he would sleep, but can he sleep? Phil had heard what Ranboo had said to the other members of the smp. Techno and he pretended not to hear, but they did. Techno refuses to let Ranboo sleep in his own house now, worried that the teen will be hunted for what he said.

Phil doesn’t think people will hunt Ranboo. There are now only two children on the Dream SMP, and Phil doesn’t think that anyone will kill them. Not after the joint funeral for the other two. Not after everyone saw the too small caskets get lowered into the ground.

“I should check in on Eret.” Phil mumbles to himself, his communicator lying on the table besides him. The king seemed hysterical from Tubbo and Tommy’s deaths. They insisted Tommy was alive - quite possibly due to the fact that a body has yet to be discovered - and wept every time that someone told them that he wasn’t. Eret is looking after his grandson, even if the fox hybrid seemingly doesn’t care for their family. Phil won’t let Eret’s hysterics harm his grandson.

Phil sends a message to the king, asking if they are alright. No response is given back, though perhaps that is a good thing.

It’s two am, and Phil’s tea is ice cold. Phil tips it down the sink, mourning the loss of the tea that he didn’t even drink. 

Did Phil spend enough time with Tommy? Did Tommy die thinking he was unloved, unwanted by his family? Did Phil, in his attempts to help Techno control his voices and help Wilbur learn to fly, push away his youngest? What could Phil have done differently, in order to make the teen less reckless? Phil blew up New L’Manburg to teach him a lesson on corruption and recklessness, why would Tommy continue to run into danger?

Phil drops his cup, tears blurring his vision. He doesn’t understand, doesn’t understand where he went  _ wrong. _ Sure, he spent more time with his eldest two, but Tommy always was so  _ fucking _ independent - refusing his help when offered, learning to read before being taught how, even toddling around their home without help.

Cuts dig into Phil’s knees. He doesn’t know when he fell onto the ground, he doesn’t remember dropping his cup. His knees bleed, but is it enough? Is the blood that flows from the enough to staunch the wound that Tommy and Tubbo’s deaths opened?

Is Phil hurting enough?

Phil killed one of his sons. Pushed the other away, even before grief had overtaken him. Ghostbur doesn’t visit anymore, and Tommy and Tubbo’s ghosts haven’t been seen. Techno funnels his grief into anger and Ranboo blames him - blames  _ everyone _ \- for his friends deaths. 

Phil stands up, leaning against the wall. He can’t stay here, his wings  _ itch _ against his skin. He needs to get into the air. He needs to leave, leave the warm home that he doesn’t belong in. He craves the comfort of war and blood and death falling from his hands, gifted to innocent civilians and soldiers who stand in his path.

The cold comfort of violence beckons him, and Phil flees the sanctuary his only living son built. The moon lights the sky above him, and Phil flies over open fields, not willing to touch the villagers that Techno and Ranboo spent months trading with.

He finds a village, a good seven hundred blocks away from Techno’s home. Phil flies in front of the moon, his black wings illuminated from behind. The angel of death. A euphemism that Phil more than once preened himself on. A mortal, an emperor of a hard to reach land in a far off world, having epithets and euphemisms as though he were some underworld god the mortals dared not speak of, in fear of incurring his wrath.

Only the moon bares witness to his slaughter.

Blood stains the grass as animals and people die without a chance to struggle. Blood pools on the floor and coats walls. Phil is no psychopomp, but he serves the same purpose, ferrying the dead to the underworld. 

Phil washes the blood off in a nearby river before he flies back to Techno’s base, hopelessness making him moonsick. 

\----

Tommy curls up in his cell, his ears pressed flat against his head. His tail wraps around his waist, trying to help him warm up. He’s still chained to the wall, though he isn’t bleeding anymore. A plate of food sits on a chest nearby, and Tommy’s new instincts scream at him to take it. That he needs to eat so that he can continue to grow. To live.

Tommy doesn’t want to do either of those things, so he doesn’t touch the food.

Tommy knows Dream is watching. He knows that Dream will come in, will force feed him until Tommy either passes out or throws up. He knows, because Dream is always watching. Because he can feel eyes watching him. Tommy knows, knows too much. He’s scared, he doesn’t want to have Dream force food and potions down his throat.

But he wants to be held again.

Dream is pack. Dream isn’t family. Dream is safe. Dream hurts him. Tommy doesn’t know the truth. Sure - Techno and Phil told him that what Dream had done to him in exile was wrong, was abuse, but they also teamed up with Dream to destroy his only home. Does that make his family evil, or Dream good? Is Tommy the problem, or is Tommy the victim?

Tommy knows one thing for certain about Dream. The man is the only person who visits him. He comforts him after Tommy gets punished for his mistakes, he made sure Tommy is feeling alright after his tail grew in. He gives Tommy apples and a caldron to wash them in. He gives Tommy shiny things to hide around his cell - his  _ den _ .

Dream wants to help him. Dream wants to hurt him. Tommy doesn’t know, doesn’t care. Maybe if he eats Dream will come. Dream will come if he doesn’t, but maybe he will if Tommy does eat. Maybe.

He won’t eat, even if Dream promised to come. Dream is pack, and Tommy wants to see him again.

He lies on his bed, wishing for his abuser to come back and hurt him again, if only so that he can feel again. He wishes to be hurt or helped. Saved or slaughtered. Killed or kept. Tommy buries his face into the pillow and weeps for a lost friend. For the only brother who didn’t hurt him, the one that wasn’t even blood family.

God, he’s such a fuck up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoooo, so,, like,,,,,,, 
> 
> ya'll enjoying this?????

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this! Here's some fun facts so no one is confused in upcoming chapters:
> 
> Sleepy Bois Inc: A biological family, all of them an animal hybrid. (Philza: Bird, Wilbur: fish, Techno: Pig, Tommy: Raccoon)
> 
> Tubbo was human
> 
> Sleepy Bois Inc wasn't the best family, in terms of how they treated Tommy. There is lore behind this, but I may just write an explaination one-shot for it.
> 
> Sam, once finished the prison, was banned from being the warden.


End file.
